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March 27, 2012

Valentine Calls Globe Report "Lazy Journalism"

A wedge appears to be forming between new manager Bobby Valentine and new general manager Ben Cherington on the best way to employ Daniel Bard, starter or reliever, and the best place to employ shortstop prospect Jose Iglesias, Fenway Park or Pawtucket.

Valentine has been lukewarm, bordering on openly cynical about Bard’s conversion from setup man to starter, a centerpiece of Cherington’s team-building blueprint, and a report, citing an anonymous Sox staffer, said Bard would be returning to the bullpen when the games begin for real.

Don’t forget that Cherington didn’t choose Valentine. He was foisted upon him by Sox president and CEO Larry Lucchino ...

Disagreements between a manager and a general manager happen all the time. ... But what makes this one different is that it could define the influence that each man has in the Sox decision-making hierarchy and who has the ear of Lucchino.

Gasper's report is not the only one suggesting a difference of opinion on a variety of key issues.

Sean McAdam of CSNNE reported five days ago that Valentine favours Iglesias at shortstop over Aviles or Nick Punto.

CBS's Danny Knobler wrote this past weekend that Valentine would rather have Ryan Lavarnway as his back-up catcher, and not Kelly Shoppach. Cherington reportedly wants Lavarnway to begin the season in Pawtucket.

19 comments:

Daily News:In a raw new memoir, Mets pitcher R.A. Dickey reveals that he was sexually abused as an eight-year-old, and later lived with so much anger and shame that he contemplated suicide just a few years before signing with the Mets.

No, it's not. He hit [sic] .235/.285/.269 last year. In AAA. Let's see if he can hit minor league pitching before throwing him into the deep end of the majors.

I can understand old school guys not wanting to bother their heads with fancy new statistics, but if they aren't even going to pay attention to the classics, then what hope do fans ever have of understanding decisions?

Is this just one of those incredibly stupid deals where Cherington has his 'boy,' 3B has his, and after that who stays and who goes is just a dick-measuring contest without reference to either player's actual contribution or abilities?

I agree that Aviles platooned with Punto is the better option to start 2012. Iglesias is only 22. Give him more time to develop at Pawtucket; if he's tearing the cover off the ball by mid-season, then consider calling him up before 01 September to make him eligible for post-season play.

As for whether there is a rift between Valentine and Cherington, is this from the same knights of the keyboard who disliked the poker faces of the old regime?

(allan, i'm a huge fan of your blog and this is the first time i write, sometimes it can be very intimidating... specially for me that english is not my first language [i'm from chile])

bogar says it was "a tough decision" because of the "fans"

have you read the praise that kid gets among fans on twitter? the kid makes the flashy plays everybody seems to like and media has overhyped his glove (don't get me wrong... i've seen him play and the kid is a good defensive SS but that's it) add to this the fact that he's homegrown and a lot of people is very "protective" about farm system kids, i mean (again on twitter) when reddick was moved to oakland people grabbed their digital pitchforks and wanted to go and get ben's head.

aviles (in my opinion) is not a liability as a lot of people has said he will be...

Brilliant - we clearly need Bill James to come up with a new stat that measures "speed of striking fear into a pitcher's heart". SSFPH for short. I think it might transform the game - make Moneyball look like a minor blip. StrikeFearHeartBall is gonna be a bestseller.

and now it looks like we got damaged goods in the theo deal... http://www.boston.com/sports/baseball/redsox/articles/2012/03/28/red_sox_rhp_carpenter_will_have_bone_spur_surgery/?rss_id=Boston.com+--+Red+Sox+news